Feather Brained
by fictionalcandie
Summary: After the Lake Incident in OotP [Chapter 28: Snape's Worst Memory], Sirius discovers James in a proverbial corner... [MWPP fic, minus M and W. Oneshot. Part of a semiseries.]


**Disclaimer:** None of the characters, places, or things in this story belong to me. Its all JKRs. Darn the woman.

**Authors Note:** This is nothing more than the longest of a semi-series of completely random little ficlets and drabbles, which I like to collectively refer to as The Life And Times of Sirius Black, In No Particular Order -- so lets call this bit Part One, shall we? Thanks.

Oh, and dont forget to review! (Especially if youd like to see more of my MWPP-era _fun things_, eh?)

**o.o.o.o**

James Potter was sulking. He was sitting in Sirius's bed and sulking. Sirius spotted him immediately upon entering the room, but pretended he hadn't. Instead he went to James's trunk and started rummaging around in it, muttering to himself about needing a quill. But James knew his friend had noticed, and they both knew he knew.

This was a bit of a routine. James never liked to admit outright when something was bothering him, and Sirius didn't like to admit outright that he didn't even have to look at James to know.

James harumphed and crossed his arms, skulking down lower against Sirius's pillows. He was not a happy person. Rolling his eyes, Sirius abandoned any pretenses at not paying attention to the other boy, and went to sit beside him.

"What's it this time, then?" he asked.

"I've no idea what you're talking about," James snapped, proving that something had, indeed, upset him.

Sirius rolled his eyes again and folded his arms over his chest to mimic James. "Oh, give us a break, Prongs," he drawled, cocking his head to one side and regarding the bespectacled boy knowingly.

"Honestly!" insisted James, sitting up a bit straighter to glare at Sirius, as if this would prove his point.

"Really, you should know you can't lie to me," admonished Sirius, smirking a bit. James grunted. The smirk grew, and Sirius continued, "Come on now, tell Padfoot what's wrong."

No reply. James picked a pillow up from behind himself and plopped it in his lap, playing with the edge, where the seam had come apart and the down-feather stuffing was poking out. Sirius waited, watching him.

After a couple of minutes, James sighed and said, "Isn't it obvious?"

Sirius smiled to himself. He already knew what was wrong, but he wanted to make James say it for himself. "Well, let's see here. It can't be O.W.L.s..."

"Why not?" James interrupted indignantly. "We're in the middle of them, aren't we?"

Sirius leveled a look at his best friend, and James shut up. "You never worry about that sort of thing, Prongs," Sirius stated confidently. Because he knew this was true, James didn't bother responding.

"Hm," the other boy went on, gracefully brushing his hair out of his face, "Maybe this is about the detentions we got for 'picking on' Snivellus?"

It was James's turn to roll his eyes, and he did it with great relish. "No, Padfoot. I've had detentions before, that doesn't bother me," was the lofty reply, spoken as he adjusted his glasses. "It's not even close."

"No?" gasped Sirius, mocking a frown.

James nodded. "I think you're losing your touch."

"Yeah, right, Potter. I never lose my touch." Sirius snorted and pulled the pillow from James's lap, hitting him in the face with it. He refolded his arms. "You're sulking about Evans, that's what you're doing."

"Am not," James lied, straight-faced, though it was obvious to them both that Sirius'd be able to tell he was lying, no matter what he did.

"Are too," Sirius retorted smugly.

James scoffed, averting his gaze from his friend. "Am not."

"Are too."

"Am not."

"Are too."

"Am not!"

"Look, mate, you might as well admit it." Sirius uncrossed his arms and reached over to whack James gently on the shoulder. "How'm I supposed help you if you don't?"

James threw the pillow at him.

"She hates me," he sighed, as Sirius was still recovering from the swarm of goose down attacking his face.

"Who hates you?" demanded Sirius, somewhat disoriented after having cleared the air around his head of feathers. There were a few lodged in his hair, but he didn't seem to have noticed those.

James groaned, putting his face in his hands. "You idiot."

Sirius blinked, frowning, and chucked the extremely sad-looking remains of his pillow off the bed. "What?"

"Evans," came the muffled answer. It was accompanied by the most pitiful sigh that Sirius had ever heard from anyone.

"Er... what?"

James pulled his hands away from his face and glared scornfully at Sirius. "She hates me!" he yelled, waving vaguely in the direction of the Hogwarts Lake, "Evans hates me!"

"Oh." Sirius paused for a moment, then nodded his head in agreement with himself. "Well, I wouldn't go _that _far."

"But... Padfoot, you saw her today. She hates me!" wailed James. He was obviously distraught. Sirius tried not to snort derisively, as he didn't think that would do much to help his friend.

"Nah, she doesn't; she just thinks you're a bit conceited," he explained consolingly, patting the feathers on James's knee.

"She hates me!"

Clearly, Sirius was not going to be able to dissuade James from thinking thus anytime soon. He decided to stop trying for the moment.

"... Prongs, why does it matter?" he asked instead, injecting his question with as much thoughtfulness as he could.

"Huh? What's that supposed to mean? Of course it matters!" exclaimed James, running his hand through his hair feverishly. "She hates me!"

"Mate, Lily Evans is an idiot."

That stopped him.

James sat there staring at his best friend, jaw falling open a titch, his hands still in his hair.

"_What_?"

"Lily Evans," repeated Sirius, enunciating clearly, "is an idiot."

"N... No she's not! She's getting top marks in practically _everything_, and-" James snapped, valiantly defending the reputation of the girl he fancied.

Sirius broke in smoothly, "Yeah, but she keeps turning you down, doesn't she?"

Thrown off balance, James could only blink. "Er, yes, she does, but-"

"There you are, then. An idiot," Sirius finished briskly, his tone indicating that he didn't think there was more to be said on the subject. James looked at him disbelievingly.

"That doesn't bloody make any sense, Padfoot," he said slowly, eyeing Sirius warily. Sirius shrugged unconcernedly.

"It does to me."

As Sirius didn't seem inclined to explain further, James didn't have an argument for that statement. Sirius saw this and smiled. "You should really stop worrying about her, Prongs. She'll come 'round eventually, or she's not worth the waiting for."

"Yeah, that helped." James sighed, looking rather annoyed. "You know what, Padfoot, next time just... don't start." He started to stand up, but paused when he noticed Sirius's hair. "Um, Padfoot..."

"Hm?" queried Sirius, looking up at him unsuspectingly.

James almost picked the feathers out of his friend's hair. Almost. Then he thought of what their other friends would do if they saw him, and didn't. Instead, he grinned. "Nothing."

And he left Sirius sitting there, alone in their dorm, each nursing his own 'harmless' little secret about the other.


End file.
